​EU Parliament wants to keep Russia sanctions, set ‘benchmarks’ for lifting them

The EU Parliament has called for keeping sanctions against Russia in place, urging the EU to set certain “benchmarks” for lifting them, even as top European officials – including the EU's foreign policy chief – seek to restore cooperation with Moscow.

On Thursday, the EU
Parliament voted on a resolution urging the EU Council at its March
meeting to “maintain current EU sanctions against Russia and
approve 'benchmarks' for lifting them,” according to the
legislative body’s press release.

Among such benchmarks the resolution named “respecting the
ceasefire, unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops and illegal
armed groups, exchanging all prisoners and restoring Ukraine’s
control over its whole territory, including Crimea.”

However, Moscow has stated multiple times that there were and are
no Russian troops in Ukraine, and that Russia has been fully
committed to implementing the September Minsk documents.

Political analyst Aleksandar Pavic says such “perfidious” tactics are
nothing new and that since at least Yugoslavia in the 90s, the
West has been pressuring adversary states into producing results
of actions they didn't have full control of – and then punishing
them for failing to do so.

The EU body accused Russia of "aggressive and expansionist
policy," and Ukraine’s eastern self-proclaimed republics of
“terrorism and criminal behaviour.”

The document voted on Thursday also suggested the EU Commission
propose within two months a “communication strategy to
counter the Russian propaganda campaign” which the
legislative body claims is “directed at the EU, its eastern
neighbours and Russia itself.”

The bloc’s parliament added that in the events of Ukraine’s
further destabilization, the EU Council should broaden sanctions
to encompass Russia’s nuclear sector and international financial
transactions.

EU must restore cooperation with Moscow – EU foreign policy chief

In contrast to the resolution, top EU officials have called for
dialogue with Moscow to resume. At the plenary session of the
bloc’s legislative body on Thursday, EU Foreign Policy Chief
Federica Mogherini said that the EU must "think of restoring,
partially, options and instruments for cooperation on rule of law
and the judiciary with Russia."

Earlier, German top government officials said that Moscow must be
involved in the Ukrainian peace process. Additional sanctions may
exclude Moscow from partnership in the resolution of conflicts
which “will have very dangerous consequences for the entire
world,” German Vice-Chancellor of Economic Affairs and
Energy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said in an interview to a German
paper earlier in January.

Though there are some in the US and EU that "would like to
floor their superpower rival,” it is not in the interest of
Germany or Europe, Gabriel said. "Those who want it, provoke
an even more dangerous situation for all of us in Europe,"
he added.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said last week that
the sanctions on Russia could be lifted only if a ceasefire
agreement is “fully” implemented.

French President Francois Hollande has also discussed options for
the sanctions to be lifted, saying in an interview with France
Inter radio in January: “I think the sanctions must stop now.
They must be lifted if there is progress. If there is no progress
the sanctions will remain.”

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently
pointed to the fact that in response to the
establishment of the Minsk agreement – which included a ceasefire
in eastern Ukraine – the EU pushed a new package of sanctions on
Russia. In an interview with France 24. he added that he doesn’t
believe sanctions will do any good for the EU.

A European diplomatic source in Brussels told TASS on Thursday
that at least seven countries of the 28-member European bloc
currently support the lifting of Western sanctions on Russia –
Austria, Hungary, Italy, Cyprus, Slovakia, France, and the Czech
Republic.